Hannah's Christmas Carol: Chapter 10 – Christmas Present

Editor’s Note: We are pleased to bring you a holiday treat. “Hannah’s Christmas Carol” is a 12-part series which follows 10-year-old Hannah who, at the prodding of the school bully, is wavering in her belief of Santa Claus. Just like Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” — which her class is performing for their school’s winter pageant — Hannah is escorted to Christmases Past, Present and Future by two elves from the E.I.E.I.O. (Elvish Intervention & Indoctrination Order). Will the journey reinforce her belief in Santa?

Hannah opens her eyes and is walloped in the face by snow. She wipes it off with her sleeve, only to have another round of snow come flying at her.

“Aaahhh!” she screams. She turns in the nick of time and the snow pelts her backside.

“Hannah! This way!” Candie yells.

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The wind is gusting, making it hard to hear or see anything, but through the flurries Hannah finally sees Candie and Butch. It’s tough going because the snow is up to her knees, but Hannah finally reaches the two elves. It’s only then she realizes they’re standing in front of a large set of doors. In fact, they’re massive.

“Come on, Hannah!” Butch yells. “Let’s get inside before we turn into snowmen!”

Butch opens a smaller door that is cut inside one of the two bigger doors. Candie rushes inside, followed by Hannah and then Butch.

“Oh my goodness!” Hannah says as she stomps her feet and brushes the snowflakes off the rest of her. “It’s a blizzard out there!”

“It’s always a blizzard out there up here,” Butch chuckles.

“Up here?” Hannah asks. “Where are we?”

“We’re at the North Pole, dear,” Candie answers.

“The North Pole? Then, that must mean we’re … in …” Hannah stops midsentence, because for the first time she takes a look around.

“Whoa!”

Hannah is standing inside the largest building she’s ever seen. She can’t even see the other end. You could probably fit a hundred airplanes inside, Hannah thinks. It’s really tall, too — at least three stories high. But it’s all one big open space, so Hannah can see the blizzard still raging through the massive windows cut into the stone walls and the enormous skylights on the ceiling far overhead. Christmas music is being played over loudspeakers.

The main floor is a bustle of activity. There are dozens of rows of assembly lines going as far as she can see. There is a maze of conveyer belts going this way and that. But, more remarkably, Hannah sees thousands and thousands of elves. At the assembly lines, seated around huge wood tables, driving forklifts, stacking boxes — anywhere and everywhere elves are all busy doing what they do best: making toys.

“Santa’s Workshop!” Hannah smiles.

“We’ve got a master of the obvious,” Butch sneers. An elbow to his ribs from Candie stops him from saying anything further.

“Right you are, dear,” Candie says. “We’re now in Christmas Present.”

“Hello, Candie. Hello, Butch,” one elf says as she passes by the trio.

Hannah is startled. But then she notices elves walking past all seem to acknowledge them with either a nod of the head or a cherry greeting.

“I thought they couldn’t see us?” Hannah asks.

“That was in Christmas Past,” Candie answers.

“And it will be the same way in Christmas Future,” Butch says.

“But not in Christmas Present,” Candie finishes.

Hannah is still puzzled. Candie is about to speak, but Butch steps in front of her.

“I got this,” he says.

Butch reaches high and grabs Hannah by the shoulders and is about to say something when he realizes the two aren’t face-to-face. A passing elf slides a stool underneath him. Butch steps on it and, with a most serious glare, stares directly into Hannah’s face.

“OK, listen carefully,” Butch starts. “You’ve got your Christmas Past, your Christmas Present and your Christmas Future. That was then, this is now, and then will be then. You weren’t there back then, and you now won’t be there then. But this is now. And so are you. Now is not then or then. Now is now.

Capiche?”

Hannah is even more confused. Butch throws his arms up in the air in disgust and jumps down off the stool. Candie then steps up.

“This is Christmas Present, so this is the present,” Candie explains.

“So the real me is really here?” Hannah exclaims. Candie nods.

“That’s what I said,” Butch sneers.

At that moment the Christmas music stops and the crackling of a loudspeaker draws everyone’s attention.

“Attention, please. May I have your attention please,” says the voice.

Everything and everyone come to a stop to wait for what is to come next.

“Time for a progress report,” the voice announces. “It is six hours before the big guy hits the sky, and all signs are pointing to ‘go.’ Reindeer are fed, groomed and bouncing off the ceiling; sleigh is hitched, loaded with the first bags of toys and stocked with hot chocolate; weather reports are favorable with snow in the Northern Hemisphere; and airlines are ready to clear the friendly skies at midnight.

“Overall, toy levels are on target,” the voice continues. “Latest reports from our mall Santas indicate a late push for Betsy Wetsy dolls, but otherwise all signs are green and we’re good to go. Ladies and gentle-elves, we are at T-minus five hours, 55 minutes and we are officially a ‘go’.”

A large cheer erupts from the elves, including Candie and Butch.

“And now,” says the voice, which has morphed into full announcer mode. “Fresh from the kitchen where he successfully boosted his own bottom line, it’s the Ultimate Elf, the Big Man in Red, Padre Navidad, did someone say milk and cookies? … It’s Santa Claus!”

An even larger cheer erupts from all the elves and good many of them leave their posts. They head toward the bottom of a flight of stairs some distance away from Hannah. She’s about to ask Candie and Butch what’s going on, but the two elves are also heading toward the growing crowd.

“Come quickly,” Candie says, gesturing for Hannah to follow.

As they half-run, half-jog past vacated workstations and stopped assembly lines, Hannah looks ahead to where they’re going. The steps are about a hundred yards ahead of them and at the top she sees a balcony and a large set of doors.

“Where are we going? What’s going on?” Hannah asks.

“Hurry up or we won’t get to see him,” Butch answers.

“See who?” Hannah asks.

Just then, one of the doors at the top of the steps opens and none other than Santa Claus himself walks out. A huge cheer rises from all the elves in the workshop.

He is dressed in his familiar red coat and pants, lined with white fur. He takes his red hat off, and Hannah can see that his white curly beard and moustache are about the only hair he has on his head. In fact, Hannah thinks he looks very, very familiar.

Santa is waving at the elves, who, in turn, are cheering, whistling and clapping vigorously.

Hannah, too, is giddy with excitement to be seeing Santa Claus. She is waving like a maniac and trying to catch his attention so she can say hello to him.

But then she remembers why she is there. Hannah is in Christmas Present, at the North Pole and in Santa’s Workshop, because she said she doesn’t believe in Santa Claus. The very person she said does not exist is standing right in front of her.

She drops her hands to her sides and hangs her head. She’s ashamed. Candie pats Hannah’s hand, lifts her chin and encourages her to watch what is to happen next.

Santa holds his hands up until the cheering elves quiet down.

“Thank you, everyone, thank you,” Santa says. “I know there’s still work to be done, but since I won’t have a chance to see you again before I leave to deliver the presents you made, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate all of you.

“I realize you already know this, but I’ll say it again. Without you, there is no Christmas. Christmas would be just another date on the calendar. But it’s not. Christmas isn’t just a date on the calendar. It’s a celebration — a celebration of hope, love and happiness. And, because of what you elves have done this past year, in just a few hours Christmas will be celebrated by families around the world.”

“So, well done! Thank you! And Merry Christmas!”

A cheer erupts yet again from the elves. Santa nods his head, then turns and disappears through the doors. The elves return to their stations and Christmas music resumes playing from the loudspeakers.

“Come on, Hannah, it’s time for us to go,” Butch says.

“It’s time for Christmas Future?” Hannah asks.

“Nope, it’s time to see Santa,” Butch answers.

Gulp. Hannah is struck by the realization that she is about to meet Santa. Once again, she’s frozen. Butch and Candie grab Hannah’s hands and lead her up the steps. Once they reach the balcony, Candie and Butch stop and motion for Hannah to continue.

Slowly, gingerly, meekly, Hannah walks the final few steps until she is standing in front of a set of large doors. Made of wood, the doors have intricate carvings of toys from top to bottom. Each door has a large window with thick glass, one colored red and the other in green.

Hannah looks back to Candie and Butch. Butch makes a motion that she should knock on the door, and Candie mouths the words, “Go on.”

Hannah reaches up and is about to knock when the door suddenly opens. A cheery elf with red curly hair sticks her head out.

“Come in, Hannah,” the elf says. “Santa is waiting for you.”

Part 11 of Hannah’s Christmas Carol will run in tomorrow’s edition of the Morning Sun.